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Nearest station

Ikenoue

Keio Inokashira Line

Tōkyō-to, Setagaya-ku, Daizawa 3-25-3

東京都世田谷区代沢3-25-3

北澤八幡神社 

    Kitazawa Hachiman Jinja 

Home page: None

​December 23.2017

Enshrined Kami:  

Main

Ōjin-tennō                        応神天王

 

From Merged Shrines

Himegami               比売神

Jingū  Kōgō                  神功皇后

Nintoku tennō            仁徳天王

In-ground Shrines:

Benten Sha                 弁天社

Atago Inari Sha          愛宕稲荷社

Chōei Inari Sha          長栄稲地社

Noyashiki Inari Sha   野屋敷稲荷社

Maruka Inari Sha      円海稲荷社

Kōratamatare Jinja    高良玉垂社

Ubusuna Sha             産土社

 

Earliest mention of: 1469-1487 

Annual Festival:  First Sat. & Sun. of September  

History

The shrine notice board tells us that it was established sometime during the Bunmei Period (1469-1487) by the then lord of Setagaya Castle, Kira Yoriyasu (吉良頼康) through the Kanjō process. In the Edo Period it seems to have become a beneficiary of official approval. In 1650 an official document recording a donation of 7 shoku 4 shō to the shrine by the then administrator of the area,  Saitō Settsu, noted that there had been a similar donation previously. Further evidence of the shrine’s popularity is provided by a  note dating to 1682 that the box containing small donations made by visitors praying at the shrine had been stolen. Unfortunately, there is no written record of any of this, as the shrine’s betto-ji, the nearby Moriiwao Temple, where the shrine's records were stored, was destroyed by fire in 1812.

The shrine was originally known as  Nanasawa-Hassha-Zuiichi Hachima-Gū (七沢八社随一正八幡宮), a name deriving from the presence of seven villages in the Setagaya area with names ending in “sawa” (沢, meaning swamp) containing a total of eight Hachiman-Gū, the most prominent (随一, Zuiichi) of which was the Kitazawa  one. This name is still displayed on the Shingaku in the main hall.

The current main hall was built in 1978. Its predecessor, which was built in 1852, has become the in-ground Ubusuna Jinja. The Kagura Hall, initially built in 1893, was remodelled in 2004.

Description

About 700 metres from Ikunoue Station. While the main shrine hall is interesting, the real attraction of this shrine for me is the collection of seven in-ground shrines listed above. They are to be found to the left and right of the main hall  and each one of them has its own notice board naming the enshrined deity and giving a brief history. Someof them have wooden carvings, which, while quite intricate, are somewhat generic. The pair of koma-inu in front of the prayer hall date to 1852.

(Click on images to expand them)

七沢八社随一正八幡宮
shingaku
Chōei Inari Sha  長栄稲地社
Atago Inari Sha   愛宕稲荷社
Kōratamatare Jinja    高良玉垂社
Noyashiki Inari Sha 野屋敷稲荷社
Benten Sha   弁天社
Ubusuna Sha    産土社
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